How do we fix the God-awful comments on news web sites?

(Because, seriously, they're pretty awful)

What kind of sites are we talking about?

Not YouTube ...

... For that is a lost cause

... Or is it?

Why (good) comments are worth saving

• Legitimate return traffic

• Tips, sources, threads, and tangents

• Alternate, sometimes better links

• Sense of ownership & community

Users have more time, are often smarter than the writer

The Problem

Why are news comments so terrible?

• Natural Negative Bias: Nobody writes to say "A++ Would Read Again!"

•  Nobody can watch them 24 hours: Terrible never sleeps.

•  They repel readers: The paper edition -- now without comments!

• Reverse chronological, equal-seed sorting: Late to the party? You get the best spot!

How have sites tried to fix them so far?

(buhleted)

Separate comment pages

(A blast shell for awful!)

Ruthless moderation

Nominal membership fees

The Gawker system

The Slashdot/Hacker News Community system

My modest proposal

Then again, I'm not a genius

Your thoughts?